Systems and methods for managing chat-based registration with an online service

ABSTRACT

A method for real-time management of chat session data is disclosed. The method includes: receiving data from a client device via a web-based form; receiving, from the client device, a request to initiate a chat session between the client device and the computing system; in response to receiving the request to initiate the chat session, providing a chat interface for a new chat session on a display of the client device; populating a form with select data from the received data; and transmitting an encrypted version of the form via the chat interface to the client device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to data communication and, in particular,to systems and methods for processing registration requests at an onlineservice.

BACKGROUND

Various service products require a formal registration or initializationprocedure. Such procedures are often conducted manually by an agent oran operator. For example, a personal banking product may require newpurchasers to sign up using their personal information. An agent mayreceive user data, either in-person or over the phone, and manuallyinput the data for processing a user registration. A manual sign-upprocess may introduce errors (e.g. erroneous spelling) andinefficiencies, adversely affecting a user's experience with theservice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanyingdrawings which show example embodiments of the present application andin which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic operation diagram illustrating an operatingenvironment of an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a high-level schematic diagram of an example computing device;

FIG. 3 shows a simplified organization of software components stored inmemory of the example computing device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows, in flowchart form, an example method for processingchat-based registration of a user with an online service;

FIG. 5 shows, in flowchart form, another example method for processingchat-based registration of a user with an online service;

FIG. 6 shows, in flowchart form, another example method for processingchat-based registration of a user with an online service; and

FIGS. 7A to 7C show example display pages of a user interface forregistering with an online service.

Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elementsand features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In one aspect, the present disclosure describes a computing system. Thecomputing device includes a communications module communicable with anexternal network, a memory, and a processor coupled to thecommunications module and the memory. The processor is configured to:receive data from a client device via a web-based form; receive, fromthe client device, a request to initiate a chat session between theclient device and the computing system; in response to receiving therequest to initiate the chat session, provide a chat interface for a newchat session on a display of the client device; populate a form withselect data from the received data; and transmit an encrypted version ofthe form via the chat interface to the client device.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured toprovide, via the display of the client device, a selectable userinterface element for requesting to initiate the chat session.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured toprocess the received data to obtain a first value associated with afirst product, wherein the form is populated based on the first valueand select data from the received data.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured toreceive, from the client device, user input of login credentials,wherein the chat interface for a new chat session is provided upondetermining that the inputted login credentials are associated with anauthorized user.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured tostore the received data in association with a user account for theauthorized user.

In some implementations, populating the form may comprise retrieving thestored received data during the new chat session.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured to:receive, from the client device via the chat interface, the encryptedform containing additional information inputted by a user of the clientdevice; and store data from the received encrypted form in associationwith an account of the user.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured toextract data from the received encrypted form and save the extracteddata in a database.

In some implementations, the encrypted form may be transmitted as anattachment via the chat interface.

In some implementations, the processor may be further configured to:obtain a first value associated with a first product based on thereceived data; and generate a unique, non-modifiable identifier for thefirst value for associating the form with the first value.

In another aspect, the present disclosure describes a method forreal-time management of chat session data. The method includes:receiving, from a client device associated with an entity, inputincluding a selection of a vehicle and personal data for the entity;obtaining value data for the selected vehicle; obtainingpre-qualification information for the entity based on the personal datafor the entity and the value data for the selected vehicle; determining,based on the pre-qualification information for the entity, that theentity is qualified; and in response to determining that the entity isqualified, sending, to a computing system associated with a dealer forthe selected vehicle, a pre-populated resource request, thepre-populated resource request including at least a portion of thepersonal data.

Other example embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the followingdetailed descriptions in conjunction with the drawings.

In the present application, the term “online service” is intended tobroadly refer to a service that is provided by a service provider via acomputer network, such as the Internet. An online service may be aservice product that is offered online, or a service which managesproducts that are purchased and/or accessed online. For example, aninsurance company's servers may provide online registration services forinsurance policies which are purchased online (e.g. from the company'sown website or via a partner, such as a bank institution, and its mobileproduct offerings). As another example of an online service, a financialinstitution may offer mobile banking services for customers and accountholders of the financial institution. An online service is typicallyaccessed via a website and/or a mobile application on client devices.

In the present application, the term “and/or” is intended to cover allpossible combinations and sub-combinations of the listed elements,including any one of the listed elements alone, any sub-combination, orall of the elements, and without necessarily excluding additionalelements.

In the present application, the phrase “at least one of . . . or . . . ”is intended to cover any one or more of the listed elements, includingany one of the listed elements alone, any sub-combination, or all of theelements, without necessarily excluding any additional elements, andwithout necessarily requiring all of the elements.

In an aspect, the present application provides a method for automating aregistration process for an online service. User data is received at aserver associated with the online service, and a request is receivedfrom a device of the user to initiate a chat session between the userdevice and a server administering the registration. In response toreceiving such request, the server provides a chat interface for a newchat session on a display of the user device. A registration form forthe data-inputting user is pre-populated by the server using select datafrom the received user data, and an encrypted version of thepre-populated form is transmitted via the chat interface to the userdevice. The registration form can then be processed at the user devicebefore being transmitted back to the server-end.

In another aspect, the present application provides a method forupdating user account data in a data store maintained by a server. Theserver receives, via a client device, user data and a request toinitiate a chat session. In response to receiving the request, theserver provides a chat interface for a new chat session on a display ofthe client device. The server pre-populates a form based on the receiveduser data and at least a first value associated with a productidentified based on the received user data, and transmits thepre-populated form to the client device. Once the form is completed bythe user at the client device, it is transmitted back to the server forfurther processing. The chat session data, which may include thereceived user data, the first value, and other content (e.g. text,images, audio, etc.), is then associated with a specific user account.In particular, the chat session data may be associated with an accountof a user that is authenticated for access of the server or an onlineservice administered by the server.

In another aspect, the present application provides a technique forreal-time handling of user-generated data prior to handing off the datato a registration server for an online service. As a user interacts witha web-based form or survey document (e.g. by inputting user data), achat between a device of the user and a registration server may beinitiated at the request of the user. In particular, a chat interfacefor a new chat session may be provided on the user device. Aregistration form for registering with the online service may bepopulated based on user-inputted data, including, in some cases, messagecontent of the chat session. The pre-populated registration form is thenencrypted and transmitted to the user via the chat interface. Acompleted registration form may be sent back to the server, via the chatinterface, for further processing to register the user with the onlineservice. For example, an encrypted version of the completed registrationform may be sent to the server.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operating environment ofan example embodiment. In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates exemplarycomponents of a system 100 for processing requests to register at anonline service. As a specific example, the system of FIG. 1 may beimplemented to facilitate purchase of a product and subsequentregistration of a user in association with the purchased product via anonline service or portal. As a user interacts in real-time with anonline service to purchase a product, the user may provide data whichcan be used in registering the user in association with the product atthe online service. A request for registering at an online service mayoriginate from a device associated with the user. In particular, a usermay request, using their device, to register with an online servicebased on data inputted by the user on their device. The registrationrequest may be routed to various components of the system 100 via anetwork 120.

As illustrated, a server 160 (which may also be referred to as a servercomputer system) and client device 110 communicate via the network 120.The client device 110 is a computing device that may be associated withan entity, such as a user or client, having resources associated withthe server 160. For example, the server 160 may track, manage, maintain,and/or lend resources to the entity. The resources may, for example, becomputing resources, such as memory or processor cycles. By way offurther example, the resources may include stored value, such as flatcurrency, which may be represented in a database. For example, theserver 160 may be coupled to a database 180, which may be provided insecure storage. The secure storage may be provided internally within theserver 160 or externally. The secure storage may, for example, beprovided remotely from the server 160. For example, the secure storagemay include one or more data centers. The data centers may, for example,store data with bank-grade security.

The database 180 may include records for a plurality of accounts and atleast some of the records may define a quantity of resources associatedwith an entity. For example, the entity that is associated with theclient device 110 may be associated with an account having one or morerecords in the database. The records may reflect a quantity of storedresources that are associated with the entity. Such resources mayinclude owned resources and, in at least some embodiments, borrowedresources (e.g. resources available on credit). The quantity ofresources that are available to or associated with an entity may bereflected by a balance defined in an associated record such as, forexample, a bank balance.

The server 160 may, for example, be a financial institution server andthe entity may be a customer of a financial institution operating thefinancial institution server. In some embodiments, the server 160 may bea server that is associated with and/or operated by an insurancecompany.

The client device 110 may be used, for example, to configure a datatransfer from an account associated with the client device 110. Moreparticularly, the client device 110 may be used to configure a datatransfer from an account associated with an entity operating the clientdevice 110. The data transfer may involve a transfer of data between arecord in the database 180 associated with such an account and anotherrecord in the database 180 (or in another database such as a databaseassociated with another server (not shown) which may be provided byanother financial institution, for example, and which may be coupled tothe server 160 via a network). The other record is associated with adata transfer recipient such as, for example, a bill payment recipient.The data involved in the transfer may, for example, be units of valueand the records involved in the data transfer may be adjusted in relatedor corresponding manners. For example, during a data transfer, a recordassociated with the data transfer recipient may be adjusted to reflectan increase in value due to the transfer whereas the record associatedwith the entity initiating the data transfer may be adjusted to reflecta decrease in value which is at least as large as the increase in valueapplied to the record associated with the data transfer recipient.

The client device 110 may be used to facilitate purchase actions of anentity associated with the client device 110. For example, the clientdevice 110 may be configured to request information relating to one ormore insurance products that are offered by an operating entity of theserver 160. The products may, for example, be offered by an insurancecompany that is affiliated with a financial institution. The clientdevice 110 may also be configured to receive user input of variousinformation, such as personal data (e.g. identifying information,financial information) and product selections and/or preferences of thepurchaser entity, which form the basis for obtaining an estimate of avalue of a selected insurance product. Once a product is selected, theclient device 110 may be used to transmit additional user information tothe server for completing registration of the purchaser entity inassociation with the selected product. For example, the client device110 may prompt a purchasing user to input user information into aregistration form that is subsequently transmitted to the server. Theinputted information may, in some embodiments, be encrypted at theclient device prior to being sent to the server.

The client device 110, the operator computing system 140, and the server160 may be in geographically disparate locations. Put differently, theclient device 110 may be remote from at least one of the operatorcomputing system 140 and the server 160.

The client device 110, the operator computing system 140, and the server160 are computer systems. The client device 110 may take a variety offorms including, for example, a mobile communication device such as asmartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer such as ahead-mounted display or smartwatch, a laptop or desktop computer, or acomputing device of another type.

The network 120 is a computer network. In some embodiments, the network120 may be an internetwork such as may be formed of one or moreinterconnected computer networks. For example, the network 120 may be ormay include an Ethernet network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)network, a wireless network, or the like.

In the example of FIG. 1, the server 160 may provide both data transferprocessing (e.g., bill payment) and data holding (e.g., banking)functions. That is, the server 160 may be both a financial institutionserver and also a bill payment processing server. The server 160 may, insome embodiments, be a proxy server, serving as an intermediary forrequests from client devices 110 to register with an online service. Forexample, the server 160 may be a proxy connecting client devices 110 toservers or data stores processing product purchases and subsequent userregistration at an online service offering the products.

In some embodiments, the server 160 may be associated with an insurancecompany that offers various insurance policy products. In particular,the server 160 may administer functions, such as policy purchaseprocessing, product registrations, and user data management, relating toservices provided by an insurance company. For example, the server 160may be configured to receive and process, in real-time, user data fromdevices of users that purchase insurance policy products, and handle theregistration of those users based on the received data.

FIG. 2 is a high-level operation diagram of the example computing device105. In some embodiments, the example computing device 105 may beexemplary of one or more of the client device 110, the operatorcomputing systems 140, and the server 160. The example computing device105 includes a variety of modules. For example, as illustrated, theexample computing device 105, may include a processor 200, a memory 210,an input interface module 220, an output interface module 230, and acommunications module 240. As illustrated, the foregoing example modulesof the example computing device 105 are in communication over a bus 250.

The processor 200 is a hardware processor. The processor 200 may, forexample, be one or more ARM, Intel x86, PowerPC processors or the like.

The memory 210 allows data to be stored and retrieved. The memory 210may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, andpersistent storage. Persistent storage may be, for example, flashmemory, a solid-state drive or the like. Read-only memory and persistentstorage are a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium maybe organized using a file system such as may be administered by anoperating system governing overall operation of the example computingdevice 105.

The input interface module 220 allows the example computing device 105to receive input signals. Input signals may, for example, correspond toinput received from a user. The input interface module 220 may serve tointerconnect the example computing device 105 with one or more inputdevices. Input signals may be received from input devices by the inputinterface module 220. Input devices may, for example, include one ormore of a touchscreen input, keyboard, trackball or the like. In someembodiments, all or a portion of the input interface module 220 may beintegrated with an input device. For example, the input interface module220 may be integrated with one of the aforementioned example inputdevices.

The output interface module 230 allows the example computing device 105to provide output signals. Some output signals may, for example allowprovision of output to a user. The output interface module 230 may serveto interconnect the example computing device 105 with one or more outputdevices. Output signals may be sent to output devices by outputinterface module 230. Output devices may include, for example, a displayscreen such as, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), atouchscreen display. Additionally or alternatively, output devices mayinclude devices other than screens such as, for example, a speaker,indicator lamps (such as for, example, light-emitting diodes (LEDs)),and printers. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the outputinterface module 230 may be integrated with an output device. Forexample, the output interface module 230 may be integrated with one ofthe aforementioned example output devices.

The communications module 240 allows the example computing device 105 tocommunicate with other electronic devices and/or various communicationsnetworks. For example, the communications module 240 may allow theexample computing device 105 to send or receive communications signals.Communications signals may be sent or received according to one or moreprotocols or according to one or more standards. For example, thecommunications module 240 may allow the example computing device 105 tocommunicate via a cellular data network, such as for example, accordingto one or more standards such as, for example, Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), EvolutionData Optimized (EVDO), Long-term Evolution (LTE) or the like. Thecommunications module 240 may allow the example computing device 105 tocommunicate using near-field communication (NFC), via Wi-Fi™, usingBluetooth™ or via some combination of one or more networks or protocols.Contactless payments may be made using NFC. In some embodiments, all ora portion of the communications module 240 may be integrated into acomponent of the example computing device 105. For example, thecommunications module may be integrated into a communications chipset.

Software comprising instructions is executed by the processor 200 from acomputer-readable medium. For example, software may be loaded intorandom-access memory from persistent storage of memory 210. Additionallyor alternatively, instructions may be executed by the processor 200directly from read-only memory of memory 210.

FIG. 3 depicts a simplified organization of software components storedin memory 210 of the example computing device 105. As illustrated thesesoftware components include an operating system 280 and applicationsoftware 270.

The operating system 280 is software. The operating system 280 allowsthe application software 270 to access the processor 200, the memory210, the input interface module 220, the output interface module 230 andthe communications module 240. The operating system 280 may be, forexample, Apple iOS™, Google™ Android™, Linux™, Microsoft™ Windows™, orthe like.

The application software 270 adapts the example computing device 105, incombination with the operating system 280, to operate as a deviceperforming particular functions. The application software 270 may, forexample, include a mobile banking application. A mobile bankingapplication may be used for performing various personal and businessbanking activities. In particular, a mobile banking application mayallow a user to purchase and sign up for a financial (e.g. banking,insurance, etc.) product offered by a bank institution. For example, amobile banking application may provide a functionality for purchasing aninsurance product and registering a user of the mobile bankingapplication with a selected product by associating an account of theuser with the product.

A user interface of the mobile banking application may present productsdata to the purchaser entity and facilitate entry of input, such aspersonal data, product selection and/or preferences, etc. The mobilebanking application may provide a chat or messaging interface. That is,the user interface of the mobile banking application may include a chatinterface for facilitating messaging between the computing device 105and a remote computer (e.g. computer operated by a remotely locatedagent). The chat interface may be provided at the instruction of aserver which controls output data of the mobile banking application onthe computing device 105. The mobile banking application may be astand-alone application, such as a mobile app, or integrated intoanother application or software module resident on the example computingdevice 105 as a sub-function or feature.

The mobile banking application is associated with a backend applicationserver. In at least some embodiments, a server which manages an onlineservice may also serve as the backend application server for the mobilebanking application. In particular, various functions of the mobilebanking application may be provided, at least in part, by a server. Forexample, a server associated with a bank institution may perform backendservices of the mobile banking application.

In at least some embodiments, the application software 270 also includesa web browser application. Similar to the mobile banking application,the web browser application may facilitate various functions relating topurchase and registration of a product that is offered at an onlineservice. For example, a graphical user interface of a web browserapplication may provide a product selection and purchase interface forpurchasing a product that is offered by an online service, a web-basedform for inputting user data, and a chat interface for a chat sessionbetween a user of the computing device 105 and a server associated withthe online service.

Reference is made to FIG. 4, which shows, in flowchart form, an examplemethod 300 for processing chat-based registration at an online service.Specifically, the method 300 allows for handling requests, in real-time,for registering a user at an online service based on exchange of datavia a chat interface. For example, the operations of the method 300 maybe performed in processing a product purchaser and subsequentregistration of a user in association with the purchased product at anonline service.

Operations 302 and onward are performed by one or more processors ofcomputing devices such as, for example, the processor 200 (FIG. 2) ofone or more suitably configured instances of the example computingdevice 105 (FIG. 2). The method 300 may be performed, for example, by aserver system that is communicably connected to a client deviceassociated with a banking account. For example, a server providingbackend services for a mobile banking application on the client devicemay implement the method 300. In some embodiments, all or parts of themethod 300 may be performed by a computer associated with an agent oroperator that administers registration of a user at the online service.Such computer may, for example, be implemented as part of the serversystem.

The server provides a web-based form that is accessible on a website orvia a mobile banking application on a client device. The web-based formmay be a survey form or document that includes various data entry fieldsfor receiving user-inputted data. For example, the web-based form mayinclude a plurality of questions and selectable response options (e.g.presented graphically as options in a pull-down menu or multiple radiobuttons) or text entry fields for receiving direct text-based responses.User input to the web-based form may include personal data such as nameof user, address (e.g. billing, mailing, work), date of birth, andfinancial information (e.g. income, assets, outstanding debtobligations).

In operation 302, the server receives data, from the client device, viathe web-based form. In particular, the server receives user data that isinputted into the web-based form. In some embodiments, the web-basedform may only be accessible to an authenticated user. That is, onlyauthorized users may access and input their user data in the web-basedform. For example, users that have existing accounts at the servermanaging registration for the online service may be authorized to accessthe web-based form. The server may, for example, be a bank server whichadministers registration for various insurance products that are offeredby an insurance company. Account holders at the bank server may beauthorized to provide their user data in registering for insurancepolicies via the registration service provided by the bank server. Abank account holder may authenticate to the bank server for initiatingan authenticated session to register with the insurance company.

More generally, a user having authentication credentials forauthenticating (e.g. logging in) to the server which managesregistration for the online service may access the web-based form in anauthenticated user session. The user-inputted data may then beassociated with the user session. In particular, the inputted user datamay be associated with an account or profile of the authenticated user.For example, the data that is inputted into the web-based form in anauthenticated session may be saved in association with anaccount/profile of the user at the server and/or the online service. Theauthentication of a user may be performed by the server, or via athird-party service using standards for providing delegated access for auser device (e.g. OAuth).

In at least some embodiments, the web-based form may be associated witha particular product that is offered at the online service. For example,an insurance product that is offered through an online service, such asa website of a bank/insurance institution or in a mobile bankingapplication, may be associated with a web form for inputting informationrelevant to purchase and/or registration of a selected insuranceproduct. The information that is inputted into the web-based form mayinclude information about an object that is insured, such as a vehicle(e.g. vehicle type, make, model, trim level, etc.) or a home (e.g.address, year of build, square footage). The inputted information mayinclude information about the insured entity, such as age, height,weight, and personal and family medical history of an individual.

The client device may provide a product selection interface with which auser can interact to indicate choices of product and/or productpreference information. For example, the product selection interface maypresent a plurality of financial products and their productspecifications to the user, and display a progressively filtered list ofproducts based on user input of preferences and selection criteria.

FIGS. 7A-7C show display pages of an example user interface provided ona client device for processing registration with an online service.Specifically, the screens 702, 704 and 706 show a plurality of inputdata fields of a web-based form which may be populated by a user. Thescreens 702, 704 and 706 may, for example, be provided on a web browserapplication on the client device. In the particular example of FIGS.7A-7C, the input data fields receive information that are relevant toidentifying a home insurance policy. The screens 702-706 display userinterface elements corresponding to functionalities for initiating achat session (710), getting a quote for an insurance product (712), andregistering the user for an insurance policy (714). In screens 702 and704, the text for the UI elements 712 and 714 are greyed out, indicatingthat the corresponding functionalities are not available. For example,the UI elements may be greyed out if there is insufficient datacurrently entered in the web-based form. In screen 706, all threefunctionalities of the UI elements 710, 712 and 714 are available (forexample, indicating that sufficient data has been entered by the user).That is, all three options of initiating a chat session, getting a quotefor the insurance product, and submitting a request to register for theinsurance policy are available via the user interface elements 710, 712and 714, respectively.

In operation 304, the server receives, from the client device, a requestto initiate a chat session between the client device and the server. Thechat session facilitates managing registration of a user at an onlineservice. In some embodiments, the chat session may be for registering auser in association with a selected product, such as a financial (e.g.insurance) product, that is offered at an online service. For example, auser of the client device may indicate a selection of a product topurchase from various products offered by an entity through an onlineservice, and subsequent to indicating the selection, request to initiatea chat for registering the user in association with the selectedproduct.

In operation 306, in response to receiving the request, the serverprovides a chat interface for a new chat session, for presenting on adisplay of the client device. In particular, a new chat session may becreated between the client device and a computer associated with theserver. The computer may, for example, be associated with an agent oroperator for handling registration of the user at the online service. Insome embodiments, the chat session may be implemented as an instantmessaging function that is accessible from the client device. Forexample, the chat session may be provided in a mobile bankingapplication resident on the client device for instantaneously sendingand receiving messages to and from an agent's computer. More generally,the chat session may be created as a real-time messaging instance forexchanging messages between the client device and the server.

The server then populates, in operation 308, a form with select datafrom the data received in operation 302. Specifically, a registrationform which may be used to register a user at the online service, ispopulated using information provided, via the client device, by theuser. The registration form may be a static form that includes variousfields that are relevant to the user registration. In some embodiments,the choice of form to populate with the data received from the user maybe based on a product that is selected by the user at the onlineservice. For example, if the user selects an insurance product that isoffered by an insurance company affiliated with a bank institution, theregistration form may be a form that contains specific fields forinformation required for registering a user with the selected insuranceproduct.

In operation 310, the server transmits an encrypted version of the formto the client device, via the chat interface. That is, the form that ispre-populated by the server using data inputted by the user is firstencrypted and transmitted to the client device. The server implements asuitable cryptographic (e.g. symmetric or public key) algorithm forencrypting the form prior to its transmission. In some embodiments, theencrypted form may be transmitted as an attachment in the chatinterface. For example, during an active chat session between the clientdevice and the server, the encrypted form may be pushed by the server tothe user as a file attachment. The encrypted form may be decrypted uponreceipt at the client device, and the user may access the form to inputinformation in one or more data fields of the form. For example, a copyof the encrypted form may be downloaded to the client device, or theform may be directly accessible within the chat interface.

In some embodiments, the server may determine when to transmit anencrypted version of the registration form based on whether a sufficientlevel of information has been provided by the registering user. Forexample, as the registration form is populated with data received fromthe user, the server may determine whether a threshold level of detailhas been provided for completion of the registration form. The servermay, for example, check if one or more specific fields of theregistration form may be pre-populated based on the data provided by theregistering user. Upon determining that sufficient information has beenreceived from the registering user, the server may transmit thepre-populated registration form to the client device.

Reference is made to FIG. 5, which shows, in flowchart form, anotherexample method 400 for processing, in real-time, chat-based registrationat an online service. Operations 402 and onward are performed by one ormore processors of computing devices such as, for example, the processor200 (FIG. 2) of one or more suitably configured instances of the examplecomputing device 105 (FIG. 2). The method 400 may be performed, forexample, by a server system that is communicably connected to a clientdevice of a user having a banking account managed by or accessible forthe server. For example, a server providing backend services for amobile banking application on the client device may implement method400. In some embodiments, all or parts of the method 400 may beperformed by a computing system associated with an agent or operatorthat administers registration of a user in association with a productoffered at the online service.

In operation 402, the server receives data from a client device via aweb-based form, in a similar manner as in operation 302. The web-basedform may, for example, be for requesting registration of a user with aproduct offered at the online service. In particular, the web-based formthat is used for providing information to the server may correspond to aspecific product that is available via the online service. For example,if the user selects a particular product at the online service, aweb-based form containing data fields that are relevant for the productmay be presented to the user on the client device.

In operation 404, the server obtains a first value associated with aselected product based on the received data. In particular, the serverprocesses the data received from the client device (i.e. data inputtedon the web-based form) to obtain a value associated with the selectedproduct. For example, if a user selects a specific product (e.g.insurance product) and provides user data in a web-based formcorresponding to the selected product, whether in a mobile bankingapplication or a browser application on the client device, the servermay obtain a value associated with the product using informationinputted by the user on the client device.

The first value may, in some embodiments, be an estimate of a cost, orquote, for the selected product. To derive such an estimate, the servermay input the received user data in a product value computation module.For example, if the selected product is an insurance product, the servermay input the user data in an automatic rating engine that is configuredwith rating data for generating a quote based on the user data. Theserver may itself implement the product value computation module, ortransmit the received user data to a value computation service that isremote from the server (e.g. a computing system associated with athird-party service provider).

Once the first value associated with the selected product is obtained bythe server, the first value is provided to the client device for displayon an output interface of the client device, in operation 406. Inparticular, the server may generate a user interface for presenting onthe client device that includes display of the obtained first value. Theuser interface may also include at least one selectable user interfaceelement for requesting to initiate a chat session between the clientdevice and the server. The at least one selectable user interfaceelement may be associated with various functions relating to theselected product. For example, the user interface presented on theclient device may include selectable elements for, among others,initiating a chat session, requesting to bind (or fix) the obtainedfirst value for the selected product, registering the user and/or theselected product with the online service, and applying to procure theselected product.

The server receives a request to initiate a chat session in operation408, for example, via receipt of an input to select a user interfaceelement associated with an option to chat. In operation 410, the serverprovides a chat interface for a new chat session. Operations 408 and 410correspond to and are performed in similar manner as operations 304 and306 of method 300, and features described above with reference tooperations 304 and 306 can be performed at operations 408 and 400,respectively.

In operation 412, the server pre-populates the registration form basedon both the obtained first value associated with the selected productand data received from the user. The registration form may thus serve toinform the user of the first value while also allowing the user to inputtheir data in confirming their acceptance of the selected product andsubsequent registration. For example, if the selected product offered atthe online service is an insurance product, the registration form may beused for signing up the user for a specific insurance policy. The servermay obtain an estimate of the cost of the insurance policy based on dataprovided by the user, and a registration (or application) form for thepolicy may be pre-populated by the server using the obtained estimateand select user data. A registration form for an insurance policyproduct may be pre-populated with, at least, the following information:user identifying information (e.g. name, age), occupation, financialinformation, type of selected insurance, details of selected policy, anddetails of an object being insured (e.g. vehicle, home, etc.).

In some embodiments, the registration form may be pre-populated based onthe message content of the chat session between the client device andthe server. For example, the server may analyze the message content of achat to identify information which may be suitable for entering in dataentry fields of the registration form. In particular, the registrationform may be pre-populated using both the data that is inputted by theuser in the web-based form and the information which may be extractedfrom the message content of the chat session between the client deviceand the server. The server may, for example, employ a natural languageprocessing algorithm to parse the message content and extractinformation for populating the registration form.

In operation 414, the server transmits an encrypted version of thepre-populated registration form to the client device, for example, viathe chat interface between the client device and the server. Thepre-populated registration form may include both editable andnon-editable data fields. For example, the estimate of the cost of aproduct that is determined based on user-inputted information may be afixed value that is not editable. Moreover, not all data fields of theregistration form may be populated in operation 412. That is, theregistration form may include one or more data fields that are leftunfilled when it is transmitted to the client device.

In at least some embodiments, the server may associate the obtainedfirst value and the received user data with the particular chat sessionestablished between the client device and the server. In particular, aspecific chat session may be uniquely identified (e.g. using a sessionidentifier), and the obtained first value and user data exchanged viathe chat interface for the chat session may be associated with the chatsession. For example, in the context of registration for a particularproduct offering at an online service, an obtained value of the productand user data that is exchanged via a chat interface during theregistration process may be stored in association with an identifier ofthe specific chat session.

The chat session of a particular registration process may be associatedwith a user that is authorized for access to the server or a servicethat is maintained by the server. The chat session may, for example, bean authenticated session. An authenticated session is a chat sessionwhich is requested and/or initiated by an authenticated user to aserver/service. When a request to initiate a chat session is received,the server may check whether the requesting user is an authenticateduser. The server may receive, from the client device, user input oflogin credentials, and the chat interface for a new chat session may beprovided upon determining that the inputted login credentials areassociated with an authorized user. An authorized user may be a userhaving an account that is stored in a database or an online servicemaintained by the server. For example, the server may be associated witha bank institution, and an authorized user may be a user having one ormore accounts with the bank institution. The user can, uponauthentication to the server, engage an authenticated chat session thatis initiated by the server.

In some embodiments, the server may perform authentication for an onlineservice that is provided by a third-party. For example, the server mayauthenticate users that have one or more accounts that are managed by oraccessible to the server, and upon successful authentication, allow theauthenticated user access to a third-party online service. Inparticular, a user that is authenticated in this way may be able toaccess a chat-based registration process for the third-party onlineservice. In some other embodiments, the user inputted login credentialsmay be associated with a third-party system, and the authentication tothe server and/or the online service may be performed using variousstandards (e.g. OAuth) for providing the client device with delegatedaccess. That is, a user may access the server/online service viaauthorized third-party access, for example, by using access tokens, andengage an authenticated chat session for chat-based registration of theuser with the online service. For example, a user may be authenticatedto the server via a third-party application, and upon successfulauthentication, the user may gain access to an authenticated chatsession.

The first value of the product obtained by the server and the userinputted data may be associated with the unique chat session (i.e.between the client device and the server) and/or the authenticated user(e.g. an account of the authenticated user). In particular, when theuser is an authenticated user, the obtained first value of the productand the user inputted data may be provided to the chat session using anaccount or profile associated with the user. For example, the firstvalue of the product and/or the user data may be saved in associationwith a user account or profile of the authenticated user. The user datamay, for example, be stored in a user accounts database, in associationwith a unique account of the authenticated user. The server may thenaccess and retrieve this saved information during the (authenticated)chat session, for further processing of the information throughout achat-based registration process. For example, the server may retrievethe stored user data when populating a registration form for theauthenticated user prior to its transmission to the client device.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which shows an example method 500 forprocessing, in real-time, chat-based registration of a user with anonline service. Operations 502 and onward are performed by one or moreprocessors of computing devices such as, for example, the processor 200(FIG. 2) of one or more suitably configured instances of the examplecomputing device 105 (FIG. 2). The method 500 may be performed, forexample, by a server system that is communicably connected to a clientdevice of a user having a banking account managed by or accessible forthe server. The operations of method 500 may be performed in addition tothe operations of method 300 and/or 400 in a chat-based registration atan online service.

In operation 502, the server receives data from a client device via aweb-based form, and the server receives a request to initiate a chatsession in operation 504. In response to receiving the request, theserver provides a chat interface for a new chat session on a display ofthe client device, in operation 506. The server pre-populates aregistration form with select data from the received user data, inoperation 508, and transmits an encrypted version of the registrationform to the client device in operation 510. Operations 502 to 510correspond to and are performed in similar manner as operations 302 to310 of method 300.

After completing the registration form, the user may submit the form fortransmission back to the server. In operation 512, the server receives,from the client device, the encrypted registration form containingadditional information inputted by the user. The encrypted registrationform may be received, for example, via the chat interface between theclient device and the server that was established in operation 506. Inparticular, the received registration form may contain data which isadditional to the pre-populated information in the registration formthat was previously transmitted to the client device in operation 510.Upon receiving the encrypted registration form, the server may extractdata from the received form, in operation 514. For example, the servermay employ various text parsing techniques to extract data from the textinput fields of the registration form.

In operation 516, the extracted data is stored in association with anaccount of the user. In some embodiments, the extracted data (e.g.parsed text) may be saved in a database of user accounts that aremanaged by or accessible to the server. The extracted data may be savedin association with at least one of a specific user account/profile or aunique chat session.

The server may be configured to perform additional processing of thedata in the encrypted registration form that is received from the clientdevice. For example, if the registration is for a product offering atthe online service, the server may obtain a first value associated witha product selected by the user and associate the value with the user andthe selected product. The server may, for example, provide aconfirmation message to the user that an obtained first value of aselected product has been fixed for the user and provide the product tothe user thereafter.

In some embodiments, the server may compare the user inputtedinformation received at operation 502 with the user data that isreceived in the encrypted registration form transmitted from the clientdevice in operation 512. The server may, for example, determine whetherthere are any discrepancies between the user data that was used forpre-populating the registration form prior to access by a user of theclient device and the user data that was finally submitted in thecompleted registration form received in operation 512. If discrepanciesin the data sets are detected, the server may prompt the user to provideconfirmation of a change in the inputted data or otherwise resolve thedetected discrepancies. For example, a prompt for confirmation ofupdated data in the input fields of the registration form may beprovided in the chat interface of the chat session during theregistration process.

The various embodiments presented above are merely examples and are inno way meant to limit the scope of this application. Variations of theinnovations described herein will be apparent to persons of ordinaryskill in the art, such variations being within the intended scope of thepresent application. In particular, features from one or more of theabove-described example embodiments may be selected to createalternative example embodiments including a sub-combination of featureswhich may not be explicitly described above. In addition, features fromone or more of the above-described example embodiments may be selectedand combined to create alternative example embodiments including acombination of features which may not be explicitly described above.Features suitable for such combinations and sub-combinations would bereadily apparent to persons skilled in the art upon review of thepresent application as a whole. The subject matter described herein andin the recited claims intends to cover and embrace all suitable changesin technology.

1. A computing system, comprising: a communications module communicablewith an external network; a memory; and a processor coupled to thecommunications module and the memory, the processor being configured to:receive data from a client device via a web-based form for registering auser in association with a selected product that is offered at an onlineservice; receive, from the client device, user input of logincredentials and a request to initiate a chat session between the clientdevice and the computing system for registering a user associated withthe login credentials in association with the selected product at theonline service; in response to receiving the request to initiate thechat session and authenticating the user based on the login credentials,provide a chat interface for a new authenticated chat session on adisplay of the client device; process the received data to obtain afirst value associated with the selected product; store the receiveddata and the first value in association with the user account for theauthenticated user; populate a form for the authenticated user based onthe first value associated with the selected product and select datafrom the received data; and transmit an encrypted version of the formvia the chat interface to the client device.
 2. The computing system ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to provide, via thedisplay of the client device, a selectable user interface element forrequesting to initiate the chat session.
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled) 5.(canceled)
 6. (canceled)
 7. The computing system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: receive, from the client device viathe chat interface, the encrypted form containing additional informationinputted by a user of the client device; and store data from theencrypted form in association with an account of the user.
 8. Thecomputing system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configuredto extract data from the encrypted form and save the extracted data in adatabase.
 9. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the encrypted formis transmitted as an attachment via the chat interface.
 10. Thecomputing system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configuredto: obtain a first value associated with a first product based on thereceived data; and generate a unique, non-modifiable identifier for thefirst value for associating the form with the first value.
 11. Aprocessor-implemented method, comprising: receiving data from a clientdevice via a web-based form for registering a user in association with aselected product that is offered at an online service; receiving, fromthe client device, user input of login credentials and a request toinitiate a chat session for registering a user associated with the logincredentials in association with the selected product at the onlineservice; in response to receiving the request to initiate the chatsession and authenticating the user based on the login credentials,providing a chat interface for a new authenticated chat session on adisplay of the client device; processing the received data to obtain afirst value associated with the selected product; storing the receiveddata and the first value in association with the user account for theauthenticated user; populating a form for the authenticated user basedon the first value associated with the selected product and select datafrom the received data; and transmitting an encrypted version of theform via the chat interface to the client device.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising providing, via the display of the clientdevice, a selectable user interface element for requesting to initiatethe chat session.
 13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)
 15. (canceled) 16.(canceled)
 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving,from the client device via the chat interface, the encrypted formcontaining additional information inputted by a user of the clientdevice; and storing data from the encrypted form in association with anaccount of the user.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprisingextracting data from the encrypted form and saving the extracted data ina database.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the encrypted form istransmitted as an attachment via the chat interface.
 20. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: obtaining a first value associated with afirst product based on the received data; and generating a unique,non-modifiable identifier for the first value for associating the formwith the first value.